bodach
/ˈbəʊdɑːx
/noun Scottish & Irish
1A man, especially a peasant or an old man.As for spines, you'll be amazed at some of the positions some of us old bodachs can get into....
- The bodach devoured half the hog and drank one of the ale barrels; then he lay down to sleep.
- He spots a weird looking stranger in whom the bodachs appear very interested, nicknames him Fungus Man, and rightly assumes that he is involved in the impending disaster.
2A ghost; a spectre.It was said that the bodach would only bother naughty children, and in defense a child could put salt in the hearth, as the bodach would not cross salt....
- He visits various areas of the compound, trying to discover what the bodachs may already know, and stumbles over an unconscious monk.
- When he spots a large congregation of bodachs converging on his hometown of Pico Mundo, he has a premonition of great disaster.
Origin
Early 19th century (earlier as buddough): from Scottish Gaelic.